What to do from here? (Automation & Controls)

[fng3]

Hello all, I'm a long time reader of eng-tips for various reasons but this is the first time I really had a reason to post. I need some advice/quidance about the situation I face in the automation and controls work environment.

By experience, education and training I'm a civil engineer who, for reasons beyond my control, has found it necessary to start over again at a late point in my career with automation and controls. I have a BSCE, 11 years of experience (mostly in wastewater) and am working with the state to obtain my PE by October this year.

To put it mildly, it has been a very trying two years working in this industry. Mainly, it is my total lack of hands on experience with controls up to the point where I was forced to change career paths that is giving me fits. Since beginning to work with the firm I found myself with I have tried to make it plain that I am willing to do anything and everything this side of the law to make a worthwhile contribution to the efforts of those who I found myself working with. To date this has made minimal difference in regard to the opportunities made available to me to do any meaningful work or to get further training. The only opportunities coming my way in the office where I work are those menial tasks nobody else wants to tackle and that have seemingly little value to gaining the type of experience one needs to become a seasoned engineer in this discipline. I have spent time and money of my own to become more knowledgeable about the work done in my office and I have made it known to the unit manager I'm doing so. I have asked for more training from management as well.

All the job descriptions I look at for controls engineers generally describe someone with 3-5 years who can program with various vendor packages to perform SI. The job descriptions also describe someone who can perform duties related to instrumentation, controls strategies, HMI, SCADA/DCS, etc. All I can say about this is that for someone who'll soon be in his 3rd year in this industry I'm not even close to this sort of standard and it chaps my *** to say so.

Now, before the anyone gets the idea I'm not grateful to even have a job in the geographic area where I work or that I'm a whiner, I'd like to dispel the notion. It's not that at all. Like anyone who has spent the time, effort, dollars and just plain old hard work to get somewhere I just don't want to spin my wheels doing mundane tasks. I would prefer to do something meaningful with my time.

I'd really be grateful to hear from anyone who is qualified to have an opinion on my situation as to what might make a difference in the final outcome of this situation.

fng3

 

[danw2]

I'm not qualified to answer for a whole bunch of reasons to answer, but since it's a public forum, I will anyhow.

If you want hands-on, you can get it if you look for it.

1) YouTube isn't hands-on, but lots of vids show hands-on in one fashion or another, particularly the instrumentation vids from the tech school in Bellingham, Washington. Some are better than others, but even if a 4 minute handheld video isn't Hollywood, it isn't the end of the world, either.

2) Some vendors can be a wealth of information. All the distributors and reps have 'demos'. Most would die to have you borrow something to play with it "to see if you can find a fit for it". Vendors also run 'workshops' or do training, many times free.

3) I don't know where SI is formally taught, beyond the controls vendors who run training for their specific products.

But think about what SI is. My take is that a huge part of SI is knowing how to use 2 development programs: the logic program for the controller and the HMI program, whether that's a panel or software for a PC HMI. When SI guys get stuck, they call the vendors for help.

And it helps if you can use CAD to crank out a wiring diagram. A lot of places I do work for don't even know what a loop diagram or what a P&ID is, but they want a wiring diagram.

4) If what you're missing is hands-on at work, do some hands-on at home.

Skip a couple lunches and buy a shoebox PLC like an Automation Direct with some I/O cards, a couple comm ports, a low end HMI and make it all work with some HMI screens. (The more you know about comm, the more people will think you know what you're doing; most people faint at the mention of the OSI model and think ethernet is talking to God).

Fake some controls at home. A 9V battery and a pot will make an analog input. A metal box on top of a hot plate with thermocouple from ebay is a test oven. Use a brick for a load. Do on-off control with a relay. Then try time proportional control. Attach a 2nd thermocouple to the load and program a cascade control loop.

No matter whose controller or HMI, they all have to do basically the same things. So when you figure out how AD does it, open a conversation with Mr. HMI at work and say, "I've noticed AD does so-and-so this way, tell me, how does brand X do it? Oh, really. When you get a moment, can you show me that?" From what you describe work as, what do you have to lose?

5) People I work for think I'm a miracle man because of the answers I come up with. Little do they know that 85% of the answers come from spec sheets and the manuals. 10 % comes from hands-on, and 5% from vendor support.

 

[fng3]

danw2

There's some very good ideas in your reply and I've actually had one of two of them in mind. Buying a koyo from automation direct to play with was also suggested to me by a co-worker and is something I'll do, pestering vendors for other stuff you mentioned is another. I have been doing the CAD, at least up until recently, for the office. I think I at least convinced them it would be a good thing to move me from being occupied with that function to another area, possibly some field work from the sounds of the discussion so far. By the way if may not have been the right way to ask for help by specifying "anyone who is qualified" to give me feedback. By the nature of your answer you are obviously so, thanks for the input!

 

[tygerdawg]

Dan says what I would have said.

If you want to educate yourself, you need to invest only a few hundred dollars in hardware / software in cheapo PLC stuff. You'll need terminal blocks, wire, various sensors, and...........realistic project descriptions so you can do projects at home that will give you some real experience. My area is machinery controls, but I'm thinking the Civil/Wastewater arena would involve a few different buckets of water, PVC piping or vinyl tubing, valves, pumps, etc. This will all give you a taste of control stategies, system dynamics, maybe even a bit of PID loop control experience moving water from one tank to the other based on commanded setpoints. And programming. Lots of programming.

Learn how to manually create wiring diagrams with pencil & paper.

Jump in, wire some stuff up, start programming, see how other panels are wired and find out why, smoke a few things, make a mess, have fun. It ain't rocket science. And I continue to contend that if you learn basic ladder logic and HMI programming methods with Automation Direct equipment (or others), you have skills that will translate to the other packages and hardware.

Once you get the basics and form a foundation, you then may want to consider further investment in learning the "mainstream" programming suites that employers are always asking for (Allen-Bradley & Siemens). AND there are other website & discussion groups out there to help out.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[jcaden]

Here's a few ideas:

Can you find other part-time jobs to enhance your experience?

In my area (SE Nebr.) the community colleges offer much more hands-on oriented training in areas such as PLC's, VFD, Motor Controls, sensors, pneumatics, etc. I do 3 day classes in these subject areas, and get many people who want them for skills building. Perhaps your area offers something similar.

 

[Gehr]

I would suggest do work voluntarily with people working in control areas at their workshops. Try helping them out in basic areas first and gain practical knowledge in the meantime.
Zahid